escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links or blue arrows below for full page descriptions

NZ First

LAW AND ORDER

INTRODUCTION

It is a basic right of all New Zealanders to live in a safe society.

New Zealand faces three fundamental issues in restoring the safe society we expect. The first is the need to restore public confidence in the police force. The second, which is linked to the first, is to dramatically increase police numbers to allow them to do their duty more effectively. The third issue relates to the prioritisation of the police force, and in this regard New Zealand First advocates the de-merger of the traffic officers from the police.

We simply must target burgeoning violent crime, which has been underpinned by the insidious gang and drug cultures which are increasingly becoming entrenched. An immediate campaign against lawlessness is needed now, while longer-term strategies are required to deal with the root causes of crime.

New Zealand First recognises that the rights of the victims are paramount, and that the offender's rights are subject to the rights of both the victim and the State.

New Zealand First acknowledges that unemployment, poor parenting, inappropriate peer group pressure, and other socio-economic factors contribute markedly to our crime rate. We advocate a balanced policy prescription containing the elements of prevention, apprehension, punishment, and rehabilitation. Frequently prison inmates come out worse than when they went in. This is not acceptable.

New Zealand First will introduce a category of outcome sentences which put the onus on the criminal to show that he or she is ready for release. New Zealand First's policies are tough, but fair and non-restrictive for law-abiding citizens.

We will integrate emergency services into a single Ministry of Emergency Services. Civil Defence, Police, Fire, and Ambulance will share facilities, stations, radio communication facilities, vehicles and civilian support staff. Information will be shared amongst these services to better co-ordinate services.

New Zealand First will also:

• double the size of the police force over the next five years, thereby ensuring that our police force will have the frontline police numbers, powers, and resources to create safer communities;
• give local police and community groups greater power and ability to deal with local problems, and, in particular ensure that Neighbourhood Watch has the resources to maintain and expand its community coverage;
• ensure that appropriate emergency services are available to meet the needs of all communities;
• introduce new measures designed to prevent crime 'at the source' and aim to eliminate the reasons young people enter into a life of crime;
• introduce a new sentencing regime which will give the public protection from serious, violent offenders. If there is not genuine rehabilitation the offender will serve the full sentence;
• make offenders more directly accountable to their victims and communities;
• make greater use of Limited Service Volunteers as diversion for young offenders and to promote the use of the cadet corps for at risk youth; and,
• make it clear that violent young offenders should indeed be treated differently from non-violent offenders through: special 'secure training order' sentences involving supervised control and intensive rehabilitation; other secure and military-type training options; and; widening the range of offences for which youths are automatically subject to adult processes, e.g. attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, serious repeat offending.

RESOURCING OF POLICE

In order to achieve our goal of doubling the size of the police force, New Zealand First will:

• arrest the current exodus from our police force of both experienced and recently recruited officers;
• provide incentives for former officers to return to the force, including in non-sworn roles where their expertise will be valued;
• immediately provide additional frontline police following a detailed analysis of police to population ratios to ensure appropriate policing levels, and ensure that this additional staffing is not lost into support roles, but forms the nucleus of foot patrols so as to regain the lost conduit of valuable information about offenders and offending from citizens and business people;
• ensure that necessary police numbers are engaged in frontline duties by providing the requisite level of administrative support;
• rationalise the top tier of the police hierarchy by requiring the deployment of more of the experienced sworn police officers out of the Office of the Commissioner of Police (Police National Headquarters as it is otherwise known) and place them back out into operational areas for which they have been extensively and expensively trained. This will result in better supervision of younger constables and improved oversight of cases involving serious crimes.

In order to restore greater confidence in the police, New Zealand First will:

• immediately ensure that operational priorities and staffing levels enable the emergency 111 service to be fully operable and to restore public confidence in its operation;
• instigate a zero tolerance regime of abuse and crimes against police officers in the discharge of their duties;
• provide police with new powers to conduct random searches in designated public areas at designated times if there is a reasonable belief that individuals could be carrying dangerous weapons;
• expand the current legislation to ensure all people arrested are DNA tested and the records stored (there must also be the facility for voluntary swabs). This will occur at the same time and in the same manner as applies at present for finger printing of all those arrested and will simply form an electronic record of detainees as opposed to a database of prints. Mouth swabs will generally be used as opposed to blood samples;
• expand the resources of the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) to ensure it can cope with the increased demand for DNA testing;
• dramatically increase the number of trained police dogs and dog handlers;
• establish a compulsory register for all convicted paedophiles, with a legal requirement that they notify police of any change in address. Police will have the power to warn schools and community groups about the presence of convicted child sex offenders;
• better connect the community with the police force by expanding dedicated squads for community policing, serious crime/fraud, burglary, drugs, gang liaison, organised crime and other major crime fighting initiatives; and,
• in particular, declare war on gangs to make it impossible for them to operate legally.

BAIL LAWS

New Zealand First believes that the granting of bail must be fair and embrace both the needs of the victims of crime and the concerns of the community. We will:

• work toward a system whereby bail is only granted to those who have genuinely demonstrated rehabilitative qualities, with all others to serve their full sentence;
• amend bail laws to ensure public safety is given priority;
• amend the law so that suspects or offenders may have the right to remain silent OR the right to apply for bail, BUT NOT BOTH;
• ensure police have the time and resources to put all relevant information before the court;
• stop the practice of back end home detention, which has seen vile sexual predators effectively released into unsuspecting communities;
• give the judiciary clear guidance on how those with previous convictions should be dealt with on bail applications; and,
• amend bail laws so that in a prima facie case, warranting trial for serious violent offences, bail will not be granted.

CORRECTIONS

New Zealand's corrections system is in disarray and in need of a radical and fundamental overhaul.

New Zealand First will:

• ensure that upon entry into a corrections facility all inmates with a sentence of six months or more will receive a psychological, medical and educational aptitude test and all rehabilitation programmes will be based on the outcomes of these tests;
• where evidence exists of drug and alcohol abuse the inmate will immediately embark on a detox programme;
• segregate inmates with mental illnesses from all other inmates and ensure that they receive appropriate treatment;
• ensure that inmate programmes are designed by appropriate specialists rather than prison service guards;
• ensure that the pay and conditions of prison service guards aid in maintaining moral rather than detracting from it;
• tighten up parole laws and repeal 'community service', with the aim of reinstating periodic detention; and,
• conduct a study into recidivism with the aim of assessing exactly which rehabilitation programmes actually work and which are token gestures and a waste of taxpayer money. Based on this New Zealand First will institute those programmes proven to reduce recidivist crime.

FIREARMS

New Zealand First's firearms policy is based on the belief that the public have a right to be protected from those with potential to misuse firearms.

New Zealand First will:

• provide Police with the necessary resources and powers to scrutinise, and vet the suitability of individuals to own firearms (including the right to access medical records);
• review the results of Firearms Law Reforms implemented in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom;
• increase penalties (including minimum sentences) for firearm offences including improper possession and improper storage; and,
• resource increased random inspections of licensees' premises to check the security of firearms.

TRAFFIC OFFENCES (also see transport policy)

New Zealand First will:

• trial roadside drug testing using technology currently available overseas;
• legislate so that it is an offence to carry an open container of liquor in the seating compartment of a vehicle;
• ensure there is automatic loss of driver's licence for any person convicted of highway assault (road rage);
• ensure that any person using a motor vehicle in committing a serious crime will automatically suffer loss of licence and in some circumstances their vehicle; and,
• ensure that driving qualifications reflect (by way of continuous measured competence) ability in the areas of the driver's knowledge, skill, experience, fitness and attitude. To achieve this, simulator training will be investigated and where practical instigated.

JUSTICE

INTRODUCTION

The foundation of New Zealand First's justice policy is based on the dual premises that we must adhere to the rule of law and that all New Zealanders must be equal before the law.

New Zealand First strongly believes that the principles of freedom and rights of New Zealanders are protected and enhanced by a justice system which provides easy access to the courts, the unbiased and efficient delivery of justice to all New Zealanders, and the protection of all New Zealanders from oppression.

The New Zealand system of justice is based on the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, Habeas Corpus, Trial by Jury and the English Common Law and enhanced by the development of Statute law for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

New Zealand First is determined to ensure that the New Zealand justice system can provide these rights to the public of New Zealand.

JUSTICE AND LAW REFORM

The cornerstone of New Zealand First's justice and law reform policy is to enhance the public confidence in the judicial system, and to ensure that the system reflects principles of openness, accountability, independence, and integrity. New Zealand First also has some concern at the disposition of this current government to make significant constitutional change with little or no reference to the people.

New Zealand First will:

• ensure that all issues of moral and social import such as prostitution, civil unions, and constitutional issues, cannot be changed except by way of referendum;
• reduce the cost of all court fees to as close as possible to pre-2001 levels in real terms;
• ensure that all persons are treated equally before the law and that no privileges will be granted to any sector of the community arising from their race, culture, or any other reason;
• review the Property Relationships Act 1976 and any other similar legislation with a view to ensuring that the wishes of males and females as to their property relationships are governed according to their wishes, rather than being compelled to accept the compulsory view imposed by the Labour Government;
• review family legislation with a view to simplifying the provisions of the Care of Children Act and establishing a Protection of Families Act which will incorporate the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 and the Care of Children Act 2004 with a view to giving the Family court more flexibility in dealing with family violence situations and removing the rigidity which exists in the current system, a rigidity which results in the more difficult family break-ups becoming extreme situations; and even fatal;
• conduct a review of the Judicial Conduct Commissioner and the Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004 and ensure adequate resources for the judiciary;
• retain the system of Depositions Hearings as a Preliminary Hearing before trials in criminal cases;
• retain the system of Unanimous Verdicts in Trials by Jury in criminal cases;
• review any legislation relating to Lawyers & Conveyances with a view to establishing separate Acts of Parliament for lawyers and conveyancers;
• review the system of land ownership by way of cross-lease title to make it easier for existing owners of cross-lease titles to have clearer title to their property;
• continue to promote an independent judicial commission to recommend the appointment of judges, oversee the administration of the courts, provide training for judges, and process and report on complaints; and,
• explore the feasibility of returning the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and ensure that any future major constitutional change occurs following a positive referendum.

SENTENCING

New Zealand First will complete a comprehensive review of Labour's Sentencing Act and give the public more say in sentencing policy. Key initiatives in new legislation will be:

• immediately review the rules for home detention to restrict eligibility and strengthen supervision;
• where there is clear evidence that an acquittal or change to a lesser offence has resulted from intimidation, perjury, or bribery of a victim, witness, and/or juror, the accused can be re-tried for the original crime. These offences will be elevated to the status of a most serious crime and will carry an automatic sentencing upon conviction, of a minimum 10-year sentence without any form of remission. Similarly, new evidence will be treated on the same basis;
• whilst allowing some judicial discretion, provide greater statutory guidance to the judiciary on what sentences offenders should receive for various crimes;
• remove concurrent sentences for those guilty of serious crime;
• investigate the implementation of a degrees of murder sentencing regime, for the most repugnant and abhorrent of violent crime;
• deter recidivist offending by introducing the principle of 'three strikes and you're out'. This will mean that offenders convicted for three crimes for which they have been sentenced to any period of community service, or incarceration in a prison or correction centre, will be required to serve a minimum period in prison of ten years irrespective of the nature of their crimes;
• increased use of mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenders with no automatic rights to sentence reduction;
• replacement of the Parole Board by a Rehabilitation Board with a primary objective of minimising recidivism. The Board will be required to consider the actual duration of imprisonment and to ensure a serious violent offender has demonstrated remorse and a positive attitude to rehabilitation, before considering any parole; and,
• provide the legislative framework to ensure that fines are collected and reparations made.

VICTIMS' RIGHTS AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Victims of crime must not become the forgotten people in our criminal justice system. At present there is a lack of coherent and organised delivery of victim support services in the overall government response to crime. To that end, New Zealand First will:

• establish a group within the Ministry of Justice to oversee the effective co-ordination, funding and delivery of victim support services by various agencies through every phase of the criminal justice system;
• give the new unit responsibility for raising public awareness of the availability of victim support services;
• ensure that victim support groups receive adequate funding which reflects both the demand for and quality of the services they provide;
• make certain victims of crime will be given a permanent representative on the Rehabilitation Board;
• New Zealand First, as a matter of principle, does not support convicted criminals being able to profit from their crime through compensation payment. However, in those rare instances where it occurs, if compensation is to be paid to an incarcerated criminal, victims will have first call on any monies commensurate with what the courts have determined is appropriate compensation for the victim of criminal activity with the balance being paid into a trust fund for victim support;
• families of victims will have mandatory rights to full information on rehabilitation hearings, to appear in person, to have an advocate, or to make written submissions;
• require disclosure of criminal history of violent offenders released on home detention or parole; and,
• support amendments to the law so that victims of offenders sentenced to psychiatric hospitals will be told when the offender is discharged from hospital, and introduce the legal test of 'guilty but insane'.

New Zealand First will also ensure that offenders are made accountable for their actions to the victims of their crimes, and that they are made to pay for the emotional and physical damage they cause. Steps will be taken to:

• enhance the use of reparation orders by requiring courts to give them preference over fines;
• help ensure victims receive court ordered reparations (deductions from income or benefits may be ordered as appropriate);
• expand the use of reparation orders beyond the current focus on property crimes;
• introduce a regime of fixed-term sentencing for specified crimes where the degree of involvement or other claimed contributory factors will be given no regard; and,
• pilot a system whereby those convicted of serious crimes will be offered remission in exchange for completing their time to be served under a regime of hard labour.

YOUTH JUSTICE

Young people (and their parents) will be made more accountable to the community for their crimes. New Zealand First will focus on entry level crime to put a stop to young people entering a life of crime. We will:

• lower the age of criminal responsibility and accountability to 12 years of age. Young offenders 12 years of age and over will be dealt with by the District and High Courts as opposed to Youth courts;
• retain Family Group Conferences (FGC) for those who choose to offend under the age of 12 years but even then, any offender under the age of 12 years will be entitled to be dealt with under this provision only three times and should they choose to offend again, will be dealt with by the adult criminal courts;
• ensure that parents of those children subject to the FGC process are tasked with completing appropriate parent training;
• provide the Youth Court with guidelines as to when anonymity of proceedings should be removed to reinforce the offender's accountability to the community;
• provide police with the powers and resources to address truant behaviour and prevent it from escalating into habitual truancy, which itself almost guarantees the truant's involvement in the youth justice system and a graduation into serious crime;
• raise the drinking age;
• make it clear that violent young offenders should indeed be treated differently from non-violent offenders through special 'secure training order' sentences involving supervised control and intensive rehabilitation, and other secure and military-type training options; and,
• extend the range of offences for which youths are automatically subject to adult processes, e.g. attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, and serious repeat offending.

One NZ

website

JUSTICE AND LAW REFORM: (and something for the victims!)

1. The OneNZ Party will introduce minimum sentences.
2. Youth Court sentencing will embrace the concept of Zero Tolerance.
3. Sentences will be for a minimum length and where possible tied to an educational achievement in Maths and English.
4. In line with the public’s desire for more severe sentencing for crimes of violence, the OneNZ Party will press for cumulative, in place of concurrent sentences. There will be a minimum access to parole.
5. In response to the increased barbarity of criminals, and callous disregard for victims, the OneNZ Party will introduce a sentencing regime that recognises degrees of murder for (as in the USA) those convicted of:
   1st degree murder Death penalty
   2nd degree murder 40 years, with no right of appeal against length of sentence for 30 years.
   Manslaughter 20 years, with no right of appeal against length of sentence for 15 years
   Sexual assault 15 years. No right of appeal against length of sentence. No parole either.
   
6. In keeping with the earlier maturing of young people (lower drinking age for example) the OneNZ Party will lower the separate treatment of young offenders to that of 13 years, youth above that age classed as adult.

Progressive Coalition

website

Justice and Early Intervention

General

• Goals
• Next Steps

In Government, the Progressive MPs have promoted and supported legislation, policies and initiatives aimed at developing safer communities.

While ensuring that appropriate sentencing practices have been introduced to protect communities the Progressive Party has strongly advocated for early intervention policies to prevent children and teenagers entering a life of crime.

Furthermore, we have been strong advocates for intervention programmes with adult offenders that deal with the root causes of their offending, including alcohol and drug addiction.

Released inmates need to return to their communities with the skills and attitudes that allow them to take up productive employment and provide and care for their families.

Progressive policies support the development and extension of successful programmes and policies that meet this goal.

A new Sentencing and Parole Law was introduced that ensured that the most dangerous offenders were sentenced and detained for as long as necessary but that prisons provided the rehabilitation programmes to equip offenders with the skills not to re-offend .

The same Act set up a more professional Parole Board system to assess what offenders should be reintegrated into the community. The Parole Board, Probation Officers and Police have been given greater powers to supervise those on parole and return them to prison if any danger to the community is detected.

As Corrections Minister Progressive MP Matt Robson published a major document called About Time which dealt with the most effective methods for rehabilitation and re-integration of offenders but also the best methods of early intervention to prevent children ending up as criminal offenders.

Restorative Justice Practices which allow victims to seek appropriate reparation and restoration from offenders have been legislated for in prisons, courts and the parole system. The Progressive Party will continue to work with community networks to expand effective and community supported restorative justice processes.

Policies in the Justice system and the general community to combat drug and alcohol abuse have been key priorities for the Progressive Party and will continue to be so.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Progressive Goals

The Progressive Party in government will continue to advocate for new and better early intervention programmes and strategies.

The research published in About Time showed that an intervention with an aggressive, defiant five year old costs about $5000 and has a success rate of 70 percent. The same behaviour at the age of 25 costs $ 20,000 and has a success rate of only 20 percent. This is why the Progressive Party will continue to advocate for intervening with disturbed children as early as possible.

The Progressives will continue to develop and deepen the effective anti drug and alcohol abuse policies and programmes in the community and in the justice system, for which they have been primarily responsible.

The Progressive Party will continue to advocate for the implementation of effective rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for offenders.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Steps

1. We will introduce new early intervention programmes and strategies where necessary and better coordinate existing ones by:
   Providing better support for high risk new families and reducing the number of high-risk births to teenage parents.
   Assisting children with behavioral, emotional and family problems at primary school and in early childhood facilities and through the detection of children with severe problems through extending Project Early, and like projects.
   Assisting secondary school students with similar difficulties by expanding the “one-stop –shop” pilot programmes.
   The implementation of the strategies outlined in About Time would be the most effective and practical way to put in place a successful, and indeed revolutionary, approach to early intervention.
2. Promote new steps where necessary and review present practices to assist all victims of criminal offending.
3. Expand the effective programmes both inside the justice system and in the community that address the causes of youth offending.
4. The Family Group Conference System under the direction of the Youth Court requires far greater resourcing to ensure that supervision of decisions is effective and properly monitored.
5. Review the powers of the Youth Court to see whether further detention powers are needed in excess of the present 3 month detention order in a secure residential facility followed by 6 months intensive supervision.
6. Further resourcing and extension of the currently operating Drug Courts. These courts deal with the causes of offending by drug users and are proving successful for youth and adult offenders.
7. Ensure that the legal aid system is sufficiently financed and resourced to meet the legal needs of low income New Zealanders.
8. Continue to oppose privatization of the prison system.
9. Expand the Court pilot system for restorative justice to all courts while continuing to work with and provide resources to the New Zealand-wide community networks for restorative justice.
10. Support initiatives to develop restorative justice courses in academic institutions.